Death Machine (1994)

Chaank Armaments is experimenting with the ultimate fighting machine which is part human - part machine. So far, the Hardman project has been unreliable and has killed a number of innocent ... See full summary »

Director:

Stephen Norrington

Writer:

Stephen Norrington

Stars:

Brad Dourif, Ely Pouget, William Hootkins

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Dourif	...	Jack Dante
Ely Pouget	...	Hayden Cale
William Hootkins	...	John Carpenter
John Sharian	...	Sam Raimi
Martin McDougall	...	Yutani
Andreas Wisniewski	...	Weyland
Richard Brake	...	Scott Ridley
Alex Brooks	...	Sheriff Dickson
Stuart St. Paul	...	Glitching Hardman
Jackie Sawiris	...	Waitress
Annemarie Lawless	...	Screaming Demonstrator (as Anne Marie Zola)
Julie Cox	...	Screaming Demonstrator
Kathleen Tessaro	...	Reporter
Ronald Fernee	...	Reporter
Lesley Lyon	...	Reporter

Storyline

Chaank Armaments is experimenting with the ultimate fighting machine which is part human - part machine. So far, the Hardman project has been unreliable and has killed a number of innocent people. The genius behind this project is Jack who lives in a world of models, toys and magazines. When he is fired by Cale for killing a few corporate officers, he unleashes the ultimate killing machine called the 'Warbeast' against Cale and those who would help her.

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Plot Keywords:

killer robot | survival | die hard scenario | computer hacker | science runs amok | 

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Taglines:

Man's Deadliest Weapon Shows It's Metal

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sci-fi terror and violence, language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

UK Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 May 1995 (UK)

Also Known As:

Cyber connections

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$267,986, 12 November 1995

Gross USA:

$1,422,749

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,129,045

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment Film Distributors, Fugitive Features, Victor Company of Japan (JVC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 111 min (Director's Cut) 128 min (Final Cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character "Sam Raimi" is named after director Sam Raimi. In one scene, Raimi fires a missile at the Warbeast. The succeeding shot where the camera follows the homing missile in fast-forward is a likely homage to Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981) where a similar filming technique portrays an unspecified evil charging through the woods.

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Goofs

Raimi kicks the warbeast into a cable drum and goes for the hoist. The warbeast takes a moment to recover and follows them. When the warbeast starts running from the cable drum you can see Raimis outstretched leg, proving this shot is a reversed re-use of the earlier kicking shot.

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Quotes

[first lines]
John Carpenter: There he is, the ultimate soldier. No mercy, no pity, no fear.

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Crazy Credits

Special Thanks To: [..] No Thanks To: They Know Who They Are...

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Alternate Versions

German TV version is about 5 Minutes cut for violence. The "not under 18" rated rental version is also cut. German DVD released by "BMG" is uncut!

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Connections

References The Terminator (1984)

User Reviews

So far over the top it vaults over the wall

One of the characters yells at his friend: "You just knew Ho-Ho was going to turn out to be the fat, sweaty, desperate psycho!" And of course, we all did too...

There is no question what this movie was. There are even characters named Scott Ridley, Sam Raimi, and John Carpenter. While the surface of the film is a long-corridor (Aliens) horror movie, what lies beneath is sort of a manic, director-oriented comedy that reminds me more of Evil Dead 2 than anything else. The hyper sound to dead silence, the overly dramatic lighting, the first-person Missile Cam, the cool line followed by backlit explosion... it all leans towards a wild but fun ride through all of the most common camp in these types of movies. It's a satire subtle enough to pass as just another bad horror movie, if you're not paying attention.

Brad Dourif (who was B-B-B-B-Billy Buh-Bibbit, a long time ago, and the voice of Chucky-- and might become a little more prevalent in film after being in the upcoming Lord Of The Rings trilogy) is the great shining spot in this film, and alternates from acting well (check out his outpouring at the end) to completely terrible (awful references to hacking... "Molebdenic composite"?). And all of the best subtle jokes are bad guy parodies-- my favorite example is his inability to get his threat right over the monitors: "Turning me off won't turn you off. No. Wait. Turning you off--" click.

But the real flair here is in the direction. None of this would work if it wasn't played half serious with the sights and sounds. As the climax builds, the ambient noise cuts out completely for the doors to chime "Welcome!" cheerily. The HUD from the machine's point of view displays 1P and Hi Score. The Robocop-style machine whirring in the Hardman gear as Raimi actually gets into a fistfight (!) with the machine... there is never any "set 'em up, knock 'em down" standard cue that *these* are the jokes... but there they are. Dig in.